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The swings along the way were actually far more dramatic than this timid 52-week change.

What happened

So what

If you bought Amazon shares at the 52-week lows in early February and sold them at the October peak, you would have seen a staggering 79% return in just eight months. And if you're that lucky, I would advise you to stock up on lottery tickets, stat. Market timing of those epic proportions is a pretty impossible achievement.

In other words, Amazon's year-to-date return belies its dramatic year. By early February, shares of the online retailer and cloud computing giant had taken a 29% haircut. A fantastic performance in 2015 set the stock up for a sharp correction, which was triggered by a disappointing holiday-quarter earnings report.

At the bottom of that February trough, Amazon doubled its share buyback program to $5 billion. A slow but determined climb led to the impressive eight-month gains I just mentioned. The company has delivered a mixed bag of earnings and revenue results along the way.

Now what

Heading into Amazon's fourth-quarter report in a couple of weeks, it seems clear that the e-tailer will deliver the goods this time. Traditional mall stores are reporting downright horrible holiday sales right now. Were Americans holding on to their wallets extra hard this Christmas, or did they just move more of their shopping online?